Have you ever taken the time to consider the person of the Apostle Paul? He honestly was a pretty amazing follower of Yahweh. He comes from a line of people who were passionate about Torah, God's instruction and direction as how best to live. He grew up a ways from Jerusalem. His father was both a Roman citizen and a Jewish pharisee. Living in Tarsus, modern day Turkey, Paul's family had made long trips to Jerusalem to fulfill the requirements to be there on the high holy days. He was of the tribe of Benjamin and named after their most famous Benjamite, Saul, the first king of Israel. Young Saul excelled in his religious education, becoming a disciple of Gamaiel, (Acts 5) the most renowned Jewish Rabbi of the time. Young Saul, later known as Paul, held two passions. One was to be faithful to all of God's Law and Word. The other was to faithfully await the arrival of Messiah, the coming king and deliverer of Israel. This passion drove him to oppose the new Jewish sect called "the Way". A growing group of Jews who believed that the crucified rabbi Yeshua, was Messiah. Paul was confronted by the risen Lord on his way to Damascus. Following this event his life still held two passions. One, to be faithful in God's Torah and traditions and two, to let every Jew and Gentile he met know that Yeshua was indeed Messiah.
As one of the most prolific writers, used by God, to write the letters held in the New Testament, it serves us well to remember who Paul was. While addressing the Jews in Acts 23 Paul proclaims that he currently is a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. Near the end of his life Paul speaks to the Jewish elders in Rome telling them that he has "done nothing against Rome or the his people or their customs" (Acts 28:17). Paul was a faithful, Torah observant, Jew all of his life. He was also a Jew who was had a passion to know and proclaim the truth that Yeshua was Messiah, the deliverer of Israel and the Savior of the Gentiles as well. With this background, let us take a new look at Ephesians chapter 2.
(Disclaimer - The following is the result of some time of meditation, both on the subject of faith, faithful and faithfulness, and the impact Paul's life experience might have on his writing. It is not to suggest that this is the only right answer of interpretation or if it is even is a right answer. However, we are instructed to study, to meditate, and to ponder the truth of God's revealed Word. This is the result of that time. I am a work in progress, as are you, so this may just give you something new to think about.)
Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." has long been a theological anchor for evangelicals.
Tie that to verse 9, "not of works, lest anyone should boast" and many theologians and Bible teachers find this as the evidence of the end of Torah. It is here they find that Judaism has been replaced by the Christian Church.
The verses have also been a point of contention between the reformed
camp and those with a more Wesleyan bent. Is grace the gift or is it
faith that is the gift from God? If Faith is the gift then only those
gifted with faith are predestined to be saved. However, if grace is the
gift then anyone is free to exercise faith and be saved. Quite the
dilemma. Where do you fall on the grace verses faith issue? And what of
works? Is this an end to Torah or as His workmanship are works, related
to the Law, ordained for us to complete? Well, what if both thoughts are a bit off message? Do these thoughts line up with the passions of the Apostle Paul as he writes to the Ephesian assembly of Messianic believers?
Paul's compelling drive to make Yeshua, Jesus, know is clearly evident in this letter. Paul's commitment to his Jewish heritage is also evident as he lets the Gentiles know that they who were far off have been brought near and are now under the Jewish covenants and a part of the Commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:12). Backing up to the beginning of chapter 2 we find remarkable news for us and Paul's passion for who Messiah Jesus is and just what He has done. You might want to turn to Ephesians 2 to follow along. We were dead, walking in agreement with the devil, fulfilling the desires of the flesh, children of wrath (verses 1-3). God, in His mercy, loved us even when we were dead. He made us alive with Christ. He raised us to the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. Showing His grace and kindness in Christ Jesus (verses 4-7). Paul's focus here is clearly on what God has done in Christ, Jesus. Paul then goes on to tell us that it is by this grace,through faith, that we have been delivered. Not of ourselves, gift of God. The translators have added it is to help make their understanding of the text clear. "It is" is a reference to the "gift of God", making whatever it is a "thing", for nouns can be a person, place or a thing. However, we have seen that the Greek word pistis has several different possible, yet accurate, translations. So this could be "by grace you have been saved through faithfulness, the gift of God, not of works, so no one can boast." Yet it seems contradictory to be delivered by faithfulness and not of our own works.
What if Paul has continued his thought train from the previous four verses. We know that Yahweh and His Son, our Messiah are faithful. See Deuteronomy 7:9, Hosea 11:12 1 Corinthians 1:9 or 2 Corinthians 1:18. "God is faithful", Another way of putting this is to say that God is the Faithful One. It says the same thing, and is an accurate translation, it simply makes "faithful" more of a character quality than an action toward me. God is the Faithful One who sent His Son, Messiah Jesus to deliver me. Jesus was the Faithful One who delivered me from death. For I was dead but God made me alive through the faithful actions of His Son, who is also the Faithful One. If you followed this we have another possible translation for Ephesians 2:8. "For by grace you have been delivered [from death] through the Faithful One, He is the gift of God, not of your works, lest anyone should boast." Now our deliverance, our salvation, is focused on the person of Christ, as it was in the previous verses. Paul may be reminding us that it was the work of the Faithful One, not of my faith, which delivered me from death.
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared, or revealed, before hand, that we should walk in them." We are called to be faithful as He was faithful. Dependent upon His faithfulness and now called to our own faithfulness in Him.
The choice is simply where we place our focus. Is it on my faith or on the Faithful One, Christ Jesus? As a Jewish Rabbi consumed with love for Messiah and compelled to share His message of deliverance where do you think the Apostle Paul's thoughts were?
Monday, August 28, 2017
Friday, August 18, 2017
Faith or Faithfulness, Part 2
As American believers, living in an American culture, we seldom really take into account that the world where the Scriptures were written was much different than ours. There are key cultural realities that reflect either a Greek/Western world view or that of an Hebraic world view. A Biblical world view must take this into account or we may get a bit of a distorted understanding of what God has revealed to us. It does not necessarily mean that we will arrive at a point of view that violates the general message of God's Word. However, when it comes to specific verses we may cling to, we may have missed the intent or at least narrowed our application so we hold an understanding that misses the whole picture.
In the last two articles, posted on 08/07/2017 and 08/13/2017, we considered what appeared to be God's use of evil in the lives of His followers and a question of faith and faithfulness as we walk with this God. Our world view will determined how we view these issues and how we respond to the Scriptures the LORD has graciously given us.
The first revolves around our perception of what is good. In our western view, good is what is beneficial to me and and makes my life easier. Evil is detrimental, in some way, to my existence. The Greek emphasis on the individual and how we perceive morality limits us to how good and evil are understood. God has authority over all His creation. All of His creation will ultimately conform to His will, resulting in His glory. He has the authority to direct the affairs of mankind (See Proverbs 21:1), He also has authority over the spirits, both good and evil (See Job). What God determines to do is good, for it accomplishes His will for His glory. It is His prerogative to do what He does to accomplish that objective. He is not required to consult with us to determine how we feel about His methodology. He is good, all the time, whether our sense of right and wrong or good and evil agrees or not.
In considering faith, there are three key differences in Western/American thought and Hebraic thought, which impact our understanding of faith. First, Western thought is about what we think while Hebraic thought is about what we do. Second, Western thought focuses on the individual while Hebraic thought focuses on the community. And third, Western thought is compartmentalized while Hebraic thought is integrated. When considering faith, we come to understand what we think the word means based more on our cultural mindset than on the text of Scripture.
We have seen the difference between thinking and doing in Luke 18:8, “I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" Our Western/Greek thought focused what people would think and thus believe when the Lord returns. Will anyone think that He is Messiah and believe the truth about Him when Jesus returns. From an Hebraic point of view this is inadequate. The real question for the Jews listening to Jesus is, will there be any faithfulness, anyone acting faithfully, when Messiah returns. The faithfulness of Israel was a question the Jews of that time would clearly understand. The prophets had accused them of spiritual infidelity often and chastened them for their lack of faithfulness. Would there be any faithful to the Lord when He comes is a question they understood all too well. Some of their heroes are recorded for us in Hebrews chapter 11 These accounts show what faith in action looks like. These were people who were faithful in what the Lord called them to do.
The second aspect of culture can be found in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." There are a couple of things we need to observe. First, this is written to a community of believers. There is application to the individual but it is written to the group. Second, these are those who love God. That being so they would be keeping Christ's commandments (John 14:15). These are faithful people who appear to be having their faith or faithfulness tested. We live in a culture that is individualistic. Thus, this verse is obviously about me and a promise for me. All things work together for me if I love God. However, God works in and through communities and His emphasis is often on others not just you and me. The testing of Job's faithfulness was not just for Job. It included Satan, Job's wife, Eliphas, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu as well. Peter's imprisonment brought the believers together to pray for boldness so that the community would remain faithful in spite of persecution. They do not seem to be praying for Peter's release as they had no expectation that would occur. What if your struggles have nothing to do with you but are a means to touch someone else's life for good? Your cancer brings a wayward child to God, your accident gets another driver into rehab, your loss bring the opportunity to be someone else's comfort (See 2 Corinthians 1). God's purpose for testing your faithfulness may be to bring about good in the life of another. Maybe it just isn't about you but about the good that God can bring about in the life of someone you hardly know or perhaps a complete stranger.
Our third consideration is found in James 2. James' real concern here is for the twelve tribes scattered abroad, the Jews scattered among the Gentiles. The dominant thought in Greek is to compartmentalize life. We do the same, saying things like, "I have many hats to wear". The parent hat, the spouse hat, the employee hat, the little league coach hat. Life neatly compartmentalized. I was at a men's conference once where we were told to keep work separate from our family life, to never bring work home with you. What happens at work, stays at work. How wonderfully compartmentalized. But what a missed opportunity to have our families pray together for situations at work. Do we really want to set the example to our children that what happens at school stays at school? James has a better idea. It is called integration. "But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18). For James, faith and works were not opposites or in conflict. They were to be integrated into life. Faith was not faith without faithful service. Belief was only valid if actions reflected words. Otherwise, faith is simply a dead idea of something believed. Faith without faithful actions would not exist in the mind of a Jew. Is that also true for you and me?
Our American/Western culture may keep us from seeing the true faith God has called us to. Faith is to have faithfulness integrated into our lives. Faith, or faithfulness, is something that has a focus beyond ourselves and what we think we need. Faith that is more about what I do than how I think. It is who I am, a faithful one. A child of God faithfully living out an Hebraic faith, grounded in the teaching of Yahweh and His Son, the Jewish Messiah.
In the last two articles, posted on 08/07/2017 and 08/13/2017, we considered what appeared to be God's use of evil in the lives of His followers and a question of faith and faithfulness as we walk with this God. Our world view will determined how we view these issues and how we respond to the Scriptures the LORD has graciously given us.
The first revolves around our perception of what is good. In our western view, good is what is beneficial to me and and makes my life easier. Evil is detrimental, in some way, to my existence. The Greek emphasis on the individual and how we perceive morality limits us to how good and evil are understood. God has authority over all His creation. All of His creation will ultimately conform to His will, resulting in His glory. He has the authority to direct the affairs of mankind (See Proverbs 21:1), He also has authority over the spirits, both good and evil (See Job). What God determines to do is good, for it accomplishes His will for His glory. It is His prerogative to do what He does to accomplish that objective. He is not required to consult with us to determine how we feel about His methodology. He is good, all the time, whether our sense of right and wrong or good and evil agrees or not.
In considering faith, there are three key differences in Western/American thought and Hebraic thought, which impact our understanding of faith. First, Western thought is about what we think while Hebraic thought is about what we do. Second, Western thought focuses on the individual while Hebraic thought focuses on the community. And third, Western thought is compartmentalized while Hebraic thought is integrated. When considering faith, we come to understand what we think the word means based more on our cultural mindset than on the text of Scripture.
We have seen the difference between thinking and doing in Luke 18:8, “I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" Our Western/Greek thought focused what people would think and thus believe when the Lord returns. Will anyone think that He is Messiah and believe the truth about Him when Jesus returns. From an Hebraic point of view this is inadequate. The real question for the Jews listening to Jesus is, will there be any faithfulness, anyone acting faithfully, when Messiah returns. The faithfulness of Israel was a question the Jews of that time would clearly understand. The prophets had accused them of spiritual infidelity often and chastened them for their lack of faithfulness. Would there be any faithful to the Lord when He comes is a question they understood all too well. Some of their heroes are recorded for us in Hebrews chapter 11 These accounts show what faith in action looks like. These were people who were faithful in what the Lord called them to do.
The second aspect of culture can be found in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." There are a couple of things we need to observe. First, this is written to a community of believers. There is application to the individual but it is written to the group. Second, these are those who love God. That being so they would be keeping Christ's commandments (John 14:15). These are faithful people who appear to be having their faith or faithfulness tested. We live in a culture that is individualistic. Thus, this verse is obviously about me and a promise for me. All things work together for me if I love God. However, God works in and through communities and His emphasis is often on others not just you and me. The testing of Job's faithfulness was not just for Job. It included Satan, Job's wife, Eliphas, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu as well. Peter's imprisonment brought the believers together to pray for boldness so that the community would remain faithful in spite of persecution. They do not seem to be praying for Peter's release as they had no expectation that would occur. What if your struggles have nothing to do with you but are a means to touch someone else's life for good? Your cancer brings a wayward child to God, your accident gets another driver into rehab, your loss bring the opportunity to be someone else's comfort (See 2 Corinthians 1). God's purpose for testing your faithfulness may be to bring about good in the life of another. Maybe it just isn't about you but about the good that God can bring about in the life of someone you hardly know or perhaps a complete stranger.
Our third consideration is found in James 2. James' real concern here is for the twelve tribes scattered abroad, the Jews scattered among the Gentiles. The dominant thought in Greek is to compartmentalize life. We do the same, saying things like, "I have many hats to wear". The parent hat, the spouse hat, the employee hat, the little league coach hat. Life neatly compartmentalized. I was at a men's conference once where we were told to keep work separate from our family life, to never bring work home with you. What happens at work, stays at work. How wonderfully compartmentalized. But what a missed opportunity to have our families pray together for situations at work. Do we really want to set the example to our children that what happens at school stays at school? James has a better idea. It is called integration. "But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18). For James, faith and works were not opposites or in conflict. They were to be integrated into life. Faith was not faith without faithful service. Belief was only valid if actions reflected words. Otherwise, faith is simply a dead idea of something believed. Faith without faithful actions would not exist in the mind of a Jew. Is that also true for you and me?
Our American/Western culture may keep us from seeing the true faith God has called us to. Faith is to have faithfulness integrated into our lives. Faith, or faithfulness, is something that has a focus beyond ourselves and what we think we need. Faith that is more about what I do than how I think. It is who I am, a faithful one. A child of God faithfully living out an Hebraic faith, grounded in the teaching of Yahweh and His Son, the Jewish Messiah.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Are You Saved by Faith or Faithfulness?
I thought we would have a little more fun with words today. This one is foundational to our very existence as followers of God. The Greek word is
πίστις pronounced pistis. . Biblical scholars such as Strong, Mounce, and Wuest, to name a few, understand the word to mean: faith, assurance, believe, belief, trust, faithful, fidelity or faithfulness. It is most often translated with the English word "faith". The question for today is, "Why?" out of at least eight options that could all be accurate why is the word "faith" the most common choice? Is it because of the context of the text or the culture of the translator?
?
Webster defines faith with these possibilities.1,fidelity, allegiance to duty or a person. 2 : belief and trust in and loyalty to God or belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion 3: firm belief in something for which there is no proof. One of Strong's definitions includes, "reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, believing in such
profession". Got questions.org, an evangelical Christian web site gives this addition, "Simply put, the biblical definition of faith is “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove.” One also described faith as a nebulous trust based on a belief that something is true. The truth is, that for many of us, faith is a personal thing that is pretty hard to explain. Perhaps the reason is that we are of a western culture that flows from Greek thought. For the Greeks Life is founded in what you think. Thus faith is a sort of thing we think about and come to a cognitive rationale for what we believe and trust in. That being the case, our little word, pistis, and its derivatives are most frequently translated, "faith". A sort vague trust in the unknowable. Belief in something that is really just beyond our understanding. We may sense His presence and learn about Him but God is still a bit out of our total understanding. So we must have faith.
Even though there is an element of truth here, there is a more satisfying answer if we place things in a more Hebraic context. In Hebrew life is more about what you do rather than what you think. God has revealed Himself in His Word and given instruction and direction as to how best to live. Those who accept this, who believe, respond to the revelation God has given. It becomes less about "faith" and more about "faithfulness", which is one of the acceptable ways to translate pistis. What impact does this have? Let us consider a few passages to see what I mean.
Luke 18:8, “I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" This translation asks the question will the Son of Man find those who believe, have made a mental decision that what was told them is true. Will there be any who believe, who think this way when the Lord return. Now the other translation of pistis. "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faithfulness or faithful ones on the earth?" The noun pistis is now a person instead of a thing. It is personal and we are required to behave in a way that is in obedience to the Lord. It is no longer a concern about what we think but what we do that matters.
Hebrews 11:1 has long been the evangelicals go to verse to define faith, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The substance of faith is a hope we have and faith is also evidence of something unseen. It makes this thing called faith pretty intangible and entirely personal. Faith is what I want it to be and what I think it should be. However, if piatis is translated faithfulness, now what I do is the substance of what I hope for, and what I do is the evidence of the unseen that I hold to be true. Those around me know what I believe and why I have this hope based on what I do, not just what I tell them I think is true. The writer of Hebrews then gives examples of faithfulness. Noah showed what he believed as he faithfully built the ark. Abraham put his believe on display by leaving his home, Sarah believed God, the Faithful One, and was given strength to deliver the promised child. Abraham gives evidence of His belief as he faithfully takes Isaac to the mount. Moses's parents believed, the evidence is how they faithfully hid Moses.
We know that Messiah, Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). That being true perhaps the writer to the Hebrews is saying, "But without faithfulness it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him," Hebrews 11:6 (emphasis mine). A diligent seeker is doing something, not just thinking something. The Lord is a rewarder of those who walk in obedience. The other examples in Hebrews 11 are great examples of those who were faithful. We know they believed and trusted God by what they did, not just by what they thought. The substance of what they hoped for and the evidence that they believed is clear by their faithfulness to the one who called them.
There are other thing to consider, but we will save those for next week. Today's question is, "How about you and me?" Does the faithfulness of our lives give evidence of what we say we believe? If not, does what we say we think about God and His promises really matter?
Hebrews 11:1 has long been the evangelicals go to verse to define faith, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The substance of faith is a hope we have and faith is also evidence of something unseen. It makes this thing called faith pretty intangible and entirely personal. Faith is what I want it to be and what I think it should be. However, if piatis is translated faithfulness, now what I do is the substance of what I hope for, and what I do is the evidence of the unseen that I hold to be true. Those around me know what I believe and why I have this hope based on what I do, not just what I tell them I think is true. The writer of Hebrews then gives examples of faithfulness. Noah showed what he believed as he faithfully built the ark. Abraham put his believe on display by leaving his home, Sarah believed God, the Faithful One, and was given strength to deliver the promised child. Abraham gives evidence of His belief as he faithfully takes Isaac to the mount. Moses's parents believed, the evidence is how they faithfully hid Moses.
We know that Messiah, Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). That being true perhaps the writer to the Hebrews is saying, "But without faithfulness it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him," Hebrews 11:6 (emphasis mine). A diligent seeker is doing something, not just thinking something. The Lord is a rewarder of those who walk in obedience. The other examples in Hebrews 11 are great examples of those who were faithful. We know they believed and trusted God by what they did, not just by what they thought. The substance of what they hoped for and the evidence that they believed is clear by their faithfulness to the one who called them.
There are other thing to consider, but we will save those for next week. Today's question is, "How about you and me?" Does the faithfulness of our lives give evidence of what we say we believe? If not, does what we say we think about God and His promises really matter?
?
Monday, August 7, 2017
Can a Good God Be Involved With Evil?
How well do you have God contained? I think we all have some sort of God box. We place parameters as to how we know God is to behave. We have a firm grasp on His holiness and goodness as well as those "omni's" that make Him uniquely God. That is all fine and good until we bump into those uncomfortable scriptures that indicate God has a usefulness for evil and deception, and even satanic brutality in the lives of those who believe. We may think, "I must be reading the text incorrectly or maybe it is clearer in the Hebrew or Greek. How can it possibly be that God can be the one who orchestrates evil oppression?" We know God is good so there must be some explanation to our confusion. However, if we are honest, there are a number of Scriptures that certainly seem to indicate that our good God uses what we see as evil as one of His tools.
Perhaps the best known example is that of Job. That rather long poem just before Psalms. In brief, we are told of Job, "that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1). No indication of pride or hidden sins. Just a really good guy. One day the "sons of God" came to God to give a report and Satan was among them. Satan, accuser of the brethren, does his accusation thing and God points out that Job is not like that. God, the LORD, Yahweh, gives Satan permission to trash Job's life. Kills Job's kids, takes his flocks and herds, burns his home, and covers Job with putrid sores. So how does a good God allow that? Job is blameless and upright. How does this square with David's Psalm, " I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread" (Psalm 37:25). Job looks pretty forsaken to me. If you know the story, Job gets vindicated and his critical friends get put in their place. Job gets all his stuff back and more children. However, we are left with the feeling that Job was an object lesson to prove to Satan that someone loved and trusted God in spite of adversity. It is a comfort for us when adversity strikes, however, it may leave a lingering question as to how a good God allows such an evil one. I think we can all agree that Satan is evil to pummel Job for no apparent earthly reason. That there may be some bigger heavenly answer does not change the anguish and loss Job feels.
For me, a more troubling passage is found in 1 Samuel 16:14, "But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing [evil] spirit from the LORD troubled him." The Hebrew word is, רַע, meaning, translate as evil or wicked over five hundred time in the Old Testament. God took away His good Spirit and sent an evil spirit to terrify Saul. David was brought in to play soothing music to calm Saul. "And so it was, whenever the [evil] spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the evil spirit would depart from him" (1 Samuel 16:23). God sent an evil spirit over and over again to oppress Saul. No barter with Satan here. No, "Hey, it all works out for Saul in the end, so it's okay". What we clearly read is God sent an evil spirit to terrify Saul due to Saul's disobedience. Not a lot of comfort in this account. And it does leave us with the question, "How does a good and Holy God use an evil spirit to terrify one of His children."
The account we find in 1 Kings 22 is not much better. Here King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat are considering going to war with Syria. Jehoshaphat is looking for spiritual counsel before going into battle. Ahab calls in four hundred prophets who all affirm that Syria will be defeated. Jehoshaphat asks for one more prophet from the Lord so they send for Micaiah. Micaiah shares a vision that he has received from the Lord. "I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so. 'Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours" (1 Kings 22:19-23). The text definitively says that the LORD, YAHWEH, put a lying, a deceiving, spirit in the mouths of four hundred prophets so that Ahab would confidently go into battle and be killed. Our holy and righteous God will bring just judgement upon the wicked Ahab through the use of a lying and deceiving spirit.
Perhaps the best known example is that of Job. That rather long poem just before Psalms. In brief, we are told of Job, "that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1). No indication of pride or hidden sins. Just a really good guy. One day the "sons of God" came to God to give a report and Satan was among them. Satan, accuser of the brethren, does his accusation thing and God points out that Job is not like that. God, the LORD, Yahweh, gives Satan permission to trash Job's life. Kills Job's kids, takes his flocks and herds, burns his home, and covers Job with putrid sores. So how does a good God allow that? Job is blameless and upright. How does this square with David's Psalm, " I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread" (Psalm 37:25). Job looks pretty forsaken to me. If you know the story, Job gets vindicated and his critical friends get put in their place. Job gets all his stuff back and more children. However, we are left with the feeling that Job was an object lesson to prove to Satan that someone loved and trusted God in spite of adversity. It is a comfort for us when adversity strikes, however, it may leave a lingering question as to how a good God allows such an evil one. I think we can all agree that Satan is evil to pummel Job for no apparent earthly reason. That there may be some bigger heavenly answer does not change the anguish and loss Job feels.
For me, a more troubling passage is found in 1 Samuel 16:14, "But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing [evil] spirit from the LORD troubled him." The Hebrew word is, רַע, meaning, translate as evil or wicked over five hundred time in the Old Testament. God took away His good Spirit and sent an evil spirit to terrify Saul. David was brought in to play soothing music to calm Saul. "And so it was, whenever the [evil] spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the evil spirit would depart from him" (1 Samuel 16:23). God sent an evil spirit over and over again to oppress Saul. No barter with Satan here. No, "Hey, it all works out for Saul in the end, so it's okay". What we clearly read is God sent an evil spirit to terrify Saul due to Saul's disobedience. Not a lot of comfort in this account. And it does leave us with the question, "How does a good and Holy God use an evil spirit to terrify one of His children."
The account we find in 1 Kings 22 is not much better. Here King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat are considering going to war with Syria. Jehoshaphat is looking for spiritual counsel before going into battle. Ahab calls in four hundred prophets who all affirm that Syria will be defeated. Jehoshaphat asks for one more prophet from the Lord so they send for Micaiah. Micaiah shares a vision that he has received from the Lord. "I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so. 'Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours" (1 Kings 22:19-23). The text definitively says that the LORD, YAHWEH, put a lying, a deceiving, spirit in the mouths of four hundred prophets so that Ahab would confidently go into battle and be killed. Our holy and righteous God will bring just judgement upon the wicked Ahab through the use of a lying and deceiving spirit.
One last example from the New Testament. In this story the Apostle Paul, God's choice servant, pleads with the Lord to remove a distracting and painful "thorn" of some kind from his life. 2 Corinthians 12:7, "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the
revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan
to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." A thorn given by God, a messenger or angel of Satan sent to buffet Paul. The word buffet means to strike with the fist, give one a blow with the fist, to maltreat, or treat with violence. It is a brutal word. No simple pat or poke, this was an intense affliction. It was sent by God by way of Satan and the Lord refused to alleviate the pain, whatever it might have been. Paul does tell us that it was to keep him humble and dependent, however, the indication is that the Lord used evil Satan to send an evil angel to "buffet" Paul.
So, how comfortable are you with these passages? They are only a sample of what we find in God's Word. It does appear that a good God uses evil spirits and Satan-directed attacks against His own children. How can a good, holy, just, loving, kind, tenderhearted being do such things? Maybe the real issue is our God box. Maybe the God we have fashioned to fit comfortably in our box doesn't fit. Maybe our God is too small or too predictable. Maybe we impose our ideas of good and right on a God who is not so safe after all. Maybe, just maybe, He is simply more awesome in ways that press our sensibilities. Sometimes, we may just need to admit He is beyond what we thought we understood. Sometimes we just need to know that He is God and we are not and be comfortable with that.
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